Mothers Warriors Leaders from Pescadero

As part of Puente’s Madres (Mothers) Wellness program, twelve women came together during the fall for weekly sessions focused on well-being and emotional support. The women came to each session to mutually support each other’s activities contributing to their emotional and physical wellness.

Each session, these women worked on designing flags and crafts in response to recent immigration news and events. The participants chose materials, created designs, came up with messaging, and sewed each of the flags. The women shared their feelings and reactions to the current climate regarding immigration and came up with a name for their project:

Thoughts on Immigration by Twelve Women Warriors with One Voice

At the end of this project, and to further reinforce their wellness, the women went out and celebrated their work as a group by trying Thai food for the first time, getting foot massages and getting a VIP after-hours tour of the new library in Half Moon Bay.

These women expressed that a project like this gives them a greater sense of community and a much needed space to recharge, be emotionally healthy, and support each other. They talked about difficult topics and shared their personal experiences with immigration which some of them have never spoken about before.

The women wanted to be sure that Puente and Puente’s supporters were aware of the value of this program that supports those who often carry the burden of working long hours and caring for everyone around them. They said that having a place to acknowledge each other’s efforts and needs and to share their collective voice has made a tremendous difference.

The Madres Guerreras (Mother Warriors) project culminated with a beautiful display at this year’s Día de Los Muertos celebration at the las Puente’s Pescadero Grown Farmers’ Market of the season on November 1st 2018. The Madres Warrior Project display was part of a larger display of arts and crafts created by South Coast community members through various workshops organized by another group of women who had recently emerged as leaders as part of Puente’s Madres Leadership Development program. Both programs were possible thanks to the Bella Vista Foundation and were intended to address maternal depression.

The Madres Leadership Development team began meeting weekly between October and November 2018 to plan and implement five community workshops and the Día altar for the 2018 Día de los Muertos celebration. In each meeting they supported each other’s ideas and opinions regarding the workshops and the altar display. These weekly meetings gave them a safe space to be heard and allowed them to learn and practice their leadership skills.

During the process of planning for the community workshops, the leaders reflected on their own culture and learned different traditions and their meanings through conversations and storytelling.

The women organized themselves so that for every community workshop there was a leader present during setup, during the workshop, and at clean up. The leaders had to set up tables, supplies, snacks and create an example of the craft of the day. During the workshop, leaders had to welcome, sign in, and introduce the workshop activity. Other roles included outreach to the community for offerings for the day of the altar, running a volunteer workshop to carve sugar skulls and making the sugar skulls’ colored icing.

When the women were asked what the biggest challenge of being a leader was, one responded, “my biggest challenge was speaking in front of a crowd”. Another leader shared, “my biggest challenge was managing my time as a leader and my time with my family.” When leaders were asked what they enjoyed the most about being a leader, they said, “I absolutely enjoyed everything, especially working with the other members of the leadership team” and, “I was happy to help others and I appreciated that my voice was heard.”

On average, 35 community members including parents and children showed up for each community workshop. The workshops included the history of the Day of the Dead, making sugar skulls, and decorating candles, pumpkins and canvases. While working on the projects, participants also socialized and shared their stories.

On November 1st, on the Day of the Dead, the women leaders and community members arrived early in the morning to begin building the altar, organize the arts and crafts display, and create the labyrinth. By mid-day, both the labyrinth and the Day of the Dead altar were finished. Everyone rushed to change and get their faces painted as skulls for the big celebration. The Day of the Dead is one of the most popular events for Puente because it brings the community together in remembering and celebrating lost loved ones. Traditional pan de Muertos and hot chocolate, skull face painting, Ballet Folklórico performance and music were all part of this big day.

Each year, the labyrinth honors the passing of different groups of people. In the past, the labyrinth has honored families, children, and men who have passed away attempting to cross the border. This year the leaders decided that they would honor the 50th anniversary of the Tlatelolco Massacre in Mexico and the recent school shootings in the United States. The leaders chose to use books, sugar skulls, and candles to pave the labyrinth’s pathway in order to represent students. Bilingual signs explained the meaning of the labyrinth.

After the Día de los Muertos event, leaders came together one last time to evaluate the whole program. Everyone shared what they saw worked well and what things could be improved. The women were excited to share new ideas to improve next year’s event.

Their passion, commitment and leadership as well as the work of the Madres Warriors all flourished and ended on a good note with a beautiful display and a successful Día de los Muertos event.

Puente offers Health and Wellness workshops and Leadership Development programs for community members on the South Coast. Support Puente’s work today.